


I know Your Footsteps

by Selwyn111



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Daud goes on a feeltrip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-22
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-07-26 01:18:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7554586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selwyn111/pseuds/Selwyn111
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daud knows there is an innocent man within the walls of Coldridge, so do the rest of the whalers. Daud wears his guilt upon his face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I know Your Footsteps

The flooded district. An area that has been abandoned, all the citizens of Dunwall left when the walls broke. It truly became a place for outcasts and those who want to be forgotten. 

Or those who want to forget. 

In the middle of the district lays a nest amongst the other ruined building they have been made fit for assassins. Daud and his men, the whalers. Marked killers who know that they kill to make their keep. 

They don't think of the collateral. It leaves a guilty conscience. A slow blade. A corpse on the street. 

Organized papers scatter the desk with gold counts and names. Larger wanted posters kept as memories of triumph, showing what they are capable of. What they have done, who they have taken out. One poster stands out, the Empress Jessamine Kaldwin, a different type of poster. 

An oil painting, cut out from Dunwall tower, beautiful. A few of his men had gotten it yesterday, on the day of the funeral. Nearly all of the city was on the streets watching the funeral progression. Daud saw it from the rooftops unable to tear his eyes away from it. Unable also to stop his men from grabbing the portioning the painting. 

"Sir" the whaler says appearing before Daud

He pauses for a moment seeing the blue outfit a novice. He garners his mind for the name of the young recruit, while the world sees masks his ilk sees their true identities. 

"Javier report." Daud says expecting bad news

"Sir. The job was completed as standard. No casualties, no witnesses, five hundred coin payout." Javier says as a small grin of pride spreads across his face. 

"Good to know, but why are you bringing this up with me, personally?" 

Crestfallen. Javier struggles to keep his composure, he looks at Daud a moment passes before he speaks. 

"Uhhh, you said to. Sir... You told me to do the job then report back to you." 

Daud slightly remembers sending the boy out. He had been losing concentration, just moving through life being pulled along begrudgingly. 

"Did I do something wrong?" 

"No, Javier. It was a test, I always want you to be sure of your orders. Never question your actions, it will matter to someone, somewhere. They don't matter it will lead to guilt of actions if you dwell on them for too long. It will slow you down, and it will leave you as a corpse on the ground." 

"Yes, sir." 

"Javier. Don't ever question yourself, and don't ever question me." 

"Yes Daud." Javier says as he gives a bow. 

"Go ask Carlo for your next assignment. The day is still young." 

"I must ask, why you aren't giving me the new assignment?"

"I will be heading out to find some jobs near Clavering, I must gather assignments and tasks for everyone. Now go to Carlo find out what you will be doing next." Daud says absently motioning his hand away. 

Daud watches Javier blink away preparing for his mission. He lets out a sigh and moves away from his desk. Climbing the stairs and looking at his what could be described as a room. 

An opening upstairs a bed and a cubby space all his own. His men do have sleeping quarters, shared, amongst the ruined building where they can find rooms with locks. Hones their skills, practice makes perfect, perfection is to be achieved. 

He lets out a small sigh as he goes to his journal. He picks it out of the cubby and opens it to a blank page. He has no desire to write, not even to keep his journal updated. 

He moves away shaking his head. He looks to see his men preparing to do another job. Filtering in and out, moving constantly. Always doing jobs, garnered by the marks on back alleys. 

He can't do much more here. He closes his eyes for a second, pulling through the void. 

"Daud. What do you need me to do?" Billie Lurks voice calmly asks

"I'm going to be checking on some clients. See if they have any new jobs, Campbell is a loyal customer. I want you just to keep things going smoothly." 

"Alright old man." Billie says

Daud watches her start to walk off. She looks over her shoulder to watch him go. He pictures his destination, he clenches his hand, time stops. Lurk nods to him. 

Daud disappears, smoke trails dissipate from where he was standing. Billie Lurk sees through Daud, he's not going to see Campbell or any other employer. He acts like he has been staring through the void since the Empress's' death. 

\-----------------------------------------------

He never planned on finding new clients. He did muse on going to see Campbell, but there was no desire to run into any of the Overseers. Many others of the notable interest and he had no intentions of visiting them. Billie Lurk, and Thomas they are capable of gathering jobs not many demand to see himself and live much after. 

Cool and damp air the smell of the river floods his nostrils. He looks up and sees midday sun passing over the top of the Colderidge. 

He knows that many of the people in there are innocent, but he is looking for one man. Corvo Attano. He moves away from the sewer door and visualizes his destination. 

He appears inside Colderidge, close to the guard station. Right above it, most guards of the city never tend to look up for an assailant. He pulls through to the void and the world changes hue outlines of people appear, items stand out. The guard booth is clear. 

He appears in the booth looking at the prisoner catalog. How many of these people did crimes to avoid part of the plague when they shut down the quarantine. He scans through the book looking for Corvo's name, after a moment he finds the cell. Special confinement, close to him, just down the hallway. 

Daud makes his way down to special confinement, taking a jump down to the main area. He sees an empty cell across of him, he looks through the other cells. Someone looking like they belonged to Slackjaw, and some corrupt guard, some infected man coughing periodically, and someone pacing back and forth in their cell. 

He sees looks closer and starts to move towards the cell. He wants to apologize, to kill him, to free him, to tie up loose ends. It was a job nothing personal, he had heard the facts, they both reigned from Serkernos. He wanted to apologize, for what he did. Not allowing him the honor of fighting to keep them safe. 

He wanted to kill the man, he had to be too damn good at his job. He had come back three days early, it had cost Hirram some coin. He wanted to put him out of his misery, hearing his footsteps pacing back and forth, unable to fight for his cause. 

He sees Corvos shadow start to approach the door, Daud slips into the cell beside his. The infected man still at early stages had not woken up when he blinked into the cell. Daud knows he should show mercy to the infected man. He takes one of his poison bolt out of his belt and closes in on the sleeping man. 

His sense of hearing acute, he can hear the calm steady breaths of the man. Pacing from the cell beside him, others shaking shackles, calling out to each other their comments. 

He places the bolt in his left hand and in a two part motion he places his free hand over the man’s mouth. Immediately putting the bolt tip into the back of the man's neck. He can feel his wrist against the side of his neck, a racing pulse for a few seconds. Silence. No pulse, no footsteps, there is a bit of blood rushing around his ears. 

The silence holds for a few seconds, noise returns. Daud blocks out a lot of the other noise. The world changes hue. He focuses on the footsteps, seeing the outline of the ex-protector walking towards him. Corvo turns around and sits on the bed tapping his left foot on the ground every few seconds. 

\--------------------------------

Daud watches him for some time longer, he hears other footsteps. Guards approaching, he knows he has spent far too much time staring at the back of Corvo's head. 

He quickly looks at his options, not wanting to start any fight to alert Corvo to his presence. He closes his eyes and drops his head with a deep silent exhale. He moves closer to the body of the man, grabs his knife and make a quick slice to the lower eyelids. After he lightly drags the knife down the cheeks of the man, the illusion that he was further along in his symptoms, than he really was. 

Afterwards he drops down to the ground and shuffles underneath the prison bed. He draws out his sword and places it in his left hand ready to attack anyone that believes they see him. 

He sees Corvo move towards the front of his cell. He brings the world back to a normal color, he is surprised to see Hiram Burrows, and Thaddeus Campbell. The pair have a large brute behind him, and two guards flanking them. 

"Ah, Corvo. Are you ready to have another chat?" Hiram speaks out 

"Guards. Grab Corvo, he will confess sooner or later." Campbell orders out

Daud sees the guards go straight to Corvo's cell. He hears the small scuffle. Not so much a scuffle, it would imply that Corvo fought back. Corvo accepts the punches and straightens again, he walks with the guards. 

Boot steps sound in time, softer ones ahead, padded footsteps, occasionally breaking to be a dull padded sound. Daud slides out from the bed he sees the head of Morris Sullivan the brute, turn slightly at his presence, they can sense each others marks. 

He knows that this one could be dangerous. He knows that he will have to keep a safe distance from that one. He notices the guard on the bridge, he turns his back to Daud. He blinks up there, places his arm around the neck of the guard. A small choking noise can be heard he pulls him away taking from the key from his key ring. 

He opens the door behind when he hears the padded footsteps going up the stairs. He drags the body out of the way, closing the door as Hiram and Campbell round the corner. He looks into the peephole and waits. Morris is a step behind when they pass by, five paces Corvo, single pace the guards. 

Daud waits for them to go past him wait twelve paces from the farthest guards. He opens the door carefully, and follows on foot, walking toe-heel, not making any sound. 

He sees the party make its way down the hallway and turn left, following down to a path of stairs. An open area next to the yard, close to the main cell holding. He wonders if they are just moving him, he dismisses that notion when he sees that the make a left turn at the bottom of the stairs. 

Daud makes a guess that, that was the way to the interrogation room. Daud sees that Corvo hangs his head the last few feet, Corvo has nothing to confess, he is actually innocent. Everyone knows the Overseers can make the innocent compose a false confession. 

Daud closes his eyes for a second, he waits until the party makes its way through the door. He jumps down to the ground a slight sound is heard, he winces at the sound. 

He makes his way to the door, keeping to the close side of the pillar. No guards on patrol at this end of the cell block, he can guess that they are short staffed. He makes it to the door and looks through the peephole. 

Corvo is not a small man by most means, but he is picked up by Morris and placed into the interrogation chair. The two guards block his view. He sees another room behind Hiram and Campbell. 

He clenches his fist preparing for the move. Morris continues for a second then stops realizing that the rest stopped. Daud ignores that and continues to the other room. 

The world goes back to normal speed. Corvo is launched backwards into the chair and the two guards flanking him take a step back. 

"Careful Morris we need him to confess." Hiram says

A low grunt is heard is response he turns around, Daud goes back to his cover. He uses void gaze and sees Corvo being held into his restraints, the guards tightening them to make sure that he is unable to escape. He sees Corvo trying to keep his legs tensed to gather some room after the leg restraints are on. 

He notices Morris pull something from the new fireside. Daud waits a second and he hears a small shout. Corvos shout, Morris saw his tactic and put a stop to it. Corvo submits and the guards continue with their job and they tighten the leg restraints. 

"We know you killed the Empress and everything that we had heard about you two. Is it in all Serkonians blood to turn?" Hiram says

"The abbey should have kept you at a smaller place. A gifted soldier that made it to Royal Protector. Jessamine was warned about you but she did not care. She was always one to just as easily to listen as to ignore." Campbell says

\-----------------------------------

Maybe she was wrong about him. She took a step closer to the doorframe and could hear Hiram Burrows and Thaddeus Campbell talking. 

She wondered what could they be conspiring about. She looks around the room and sees the shelves, she recognizes this place. Interrogation room supplies, holding all types of instruments and a good washing basin stained. The copper smell of the room, still there from previous washings. 

She sees Daud perched at the door, waiting and looking. Crouched, something that she can hold for a long time, how long has he been here already. 

She moves closer he didn't even flinch at her presence. Was it familiarity of the bond, did he feel whenever they called upon the void? Would he notice that she was right behind him. She steps out a bit and listens to the conservation. 

This was about Corvo. Is he still caught upon that job? It's not good for their profession. It makes him guilty, slow, weak. 

\----------------------------------------------

This was not part of the deal, it did make it easier for the whalers. Everyone thinks that Corvo did it. The trade did not to need to have that many guards. He was given his coins that he had asked for when the time came to it. 

He figured out too late that the Empress was different, she was something that was holding the city together. 

He still notices that Corvo is still trying to resist the bonds holding him. He is still holding out, hoping that they will believe him, hoping that they will look for the real killer. 

Corvos feet tapping against the bottom of his foot holders. 

\--------------------------------

She could go right to him take his shoulder and place her knife right through the fourth and fifth rib. It would be quick for him, almost painless. The others respect her, they will listen to her. Daud's face is not on any of the posters, a whaling mask. She has posed as a man before, all she needs is to get Thomas to talk to a few more clients. 

She stops, she can't do it yet. Some will question it, and what will happen to their powers? Will they become regular men like the hatters, the bottle street gang, or even the dead eels? They don't have much of a name apart from Daud's men, their uniforms give them the whalers. 

She shakes her head, she knows that she will have to take a new approach. Only she can know her plan. Daud has been searching for someone, Delilah, she could be useful. 

She found out that it was the name of a ship, she is just waiting to confirm that the information she was given. She could figure this out and prove she was the stronger, the quicker, the one with a free mind. 

She blinks out back to headquarters, to his desk. She walks up to his room and sees a small lithe figure leave the window. 

\--------------------------------

He felt a small tug of the void, he has no desire to talk with the outsider. Emotion and lack of emotion are what brings the Outsider in your dreams. 

He sees that they are just appearing, to gather false information. He continues to watch the spectacle. He knows that they will execute him eventually, maybe not today but one day they will. 

He hears Corvos feet continuing to strain against the restraints around his ankles. 

He knows that soon someone will come looking for more instruments he does not want to stay any longer. He clenches his fist and thinks of where he wants to go. 

Corvo lets out a yell that startles him. He has heard it before, when he was caught in the pull of one of his assassins, waving his arms to try and get Emily and Jessamine away. 

He regains his focus and exits to the sewers just outside the prison. Looking back at Colderidge he knows he is keeping an innocent man in there.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this. Sorry for any errors, have a nice day.


End file.
